Welcome to the latest installment of People on Bikes.

This morning I rolled over to North Vancouver Avenue to take a closer look at who's riding. My location was just north of Shaver and a few blocks south of the Going Street neighborhood greenway. The bikeway on this section of Vancouver is pretty nice; even though from an engineering standpoint it's decidedly low-tech. The bike lane here is just a standard white stripe. No green paint. No protection of any kind. However, because PBOT made it extra-wide — at some spots it's a comfortable 6 1/2 feet — it feels much nicer than other bike lanes in town. The Vancouver bike lane is also very popular (the most popular according to a 2007 PBOT survey) and feels relatively comfortable because it's downhill and the speed differential between people on bikes and people in cars is minimal.
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Welcome to our latest installment of the People on Bikes series.

On Tuesday, I stood out in the very chilly early morning air to photograph folks riding through Ladd's Circle at SE Harrison. I saw a steady flow of bike traffic, which is to be expected in this very bikey corner of southeast Portland. I loved seeing all the different ways people tried to combat the cold. One very useful thing about these photos is that you can learn a lot about gear and preparedness simply be seeing how others dress. It's also fun to compare this set of images to the warm and sunny shots on the Esplanade back in May.

If you're still riding this time of year, hopefully these photos will remind you that you're not alone. If you've stopped riding due to the weather... Well, these photos show there's really no excuse to not be out there!

Have a look for yourself... (more...)

(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Welcome to the latest installment of People on Bikes. Our last one showed the fantastic people riding into Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge. That was before Sandy came to town. In the spirit of reminding the world that biking is alive and thriving here in New York City, I now present a post-Sandy People on Bikes.

This morning I sat on a park bench in the middle of Delancey Street watching people stream down the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan. I saw an amazing cross-section of New Yorkers. Many of them looked like seasoned bike riders, but many others looked like perhaps they had just grabbed whatever two-wheeled vehicle they could find just to get into work (the subway is still not running in Lower Manhattan and bus service is spotty).

What stands out for me as I look through the entire set is that these folks have style. They look good! (#47 is one of my favorites). And there's really no one in "bike clothes" — and thankfully, not one neon yellow jacket!

Have a look... (more...)

Welcome to the latest installment of People on Bikes.

Yesterday evening I had the distinct pleasure of photographing the evening bicycle rush hour near the Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn. A beautiful mural that adorns a downhill off-ramp of the bridge caught my eye and I thought it'd make a nice backdrop. The mural, Fictional Landscape by Abby Goldstein (located at Sands and Jay streets) is one of many urban art projects managed by NYC DOT and integrated into their bikeways. (more...)

Welcome to the latest installment of People on Bikes.

Yesterday on the way home from work I stopped on the bustling North Williams Avenue bikeway. The images below are just a sampling of what I saw in about 15 minutes. Not surprisingly, I noticed a lot of people riding quite fast. This location was actually one of the more difficult ones to photograph because I had to pan and focus much more quickly than other places. I think people's high speeds have something to do with the design of the street. Riding on Williams can feel hectic and stressful because of the narrow bike lane, the door zone, and all the fast car and bike traffic swooping by.

There's a project lined up that should make bicycling on Williams more pleasant. It was supposed to be implemented already; but a lengthy public process resulted in a larger and more costly project, so PBOT has applied for a federal grant which they're still waiting to hear back about.

With the rain pouring down right now, I also thought these images would be fun to share as they might be the last time we'll see dry and sunny streets for a while. Check the out below, and I even included a little bonus for your dog lovers ;-) ... (more...)

See them up close below.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

It's been way too long since the last installment of our People on Bikes column, so before this sunny and warm weather leaves us for good, I figured it was time for another one.

This morning I rolled out to NE Couch (say "cooch"), where it makes that sweeping bend just before the Burnside Bridge. I sat in the grass across from the bike lane for about 25 minutes, snapping up as many people on bikes as I could. I saw a mix of bodies and bikes; but not the quite the diversity I've seen at other locations (like Waterfront Park). While it's a semi-popular bike traffic, going west on NE Couch and entering downtown via the Burnside Bridge isn't exactly a place where the "interested but concern" feel comfortable. We know the problems at Couch and Grand; and then there's the Burnside Bridge freeway and how it unceremoniously dumps you into downtown (don't get me started). (more...)

See them in their full glory below...

Just over a week ago, Portland was given a sublime day of weather. It was sunny and warm. I didn't even plan on doing a People on Bikes photo session; but as I rolled into Waterfront Park near the Steel Bridge and saw the amazing display of beautiful people rolling by, I couldn't resist.

As I looked through the photos when I got home, what really struck me was the diversity of people and bikes. And I have to admit, the shirtless guys, the skirts and dresses, and the abundance of skin in general are also what made this session memorable.

As we wait for warm and bright days, hopefully the glow of the images below will hold you over... (more...)

The latest installment in our ongoing People on Bikes series takes us to SW Stark St. in downtown Portland. These images were taken between about 5:20 and 5:45 pm yesterday evening just east of the intersection of SW Stark and 3rd.

This section of the street has two travel lanes — one of them is a standard vehicle lane and the other is a buffered bike lane. I've numbered the images to help you refer to them in comments. As with all the posts in this series, it was a lot of fun simply observing people riding their bikes and even more fun taking a closer look via the photographs. (more...)

For the latest installment of our People on Bikes series, Will Vanlue headed out to the Eastbank Esplanade to catch some evening commuters enjoying a bit of winter sunshine.

The photos were taken near the Hawthorne Bridge between 4:00 and 5:00 o'clock this past Friday. For those of you not familiar with Portland, the Esplanade is a multi-use path (MUP) not open to cars or other motorized vehicles. Check the images from the shoot below...
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More photos below.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Twas a bit nippy on the ride into work this morning. Perhaps the coldest commute we've had in quite some time around these parts. Frost was visible on the road and leaves and it was hovering near freezing when I left my house.

With all the scarves, gloves, and other methods people use to stay warm while riding, I thought it'd be fun to resurrect our People on Bikes series. I snapped this series on SW Broadway just before Davis in about 15 minutes. Check out the riding portraits below (I've numbered them in case you'd like to reference a specific one in the comments)... (more...)